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Destination, SabaLong a mecca for divers, Saba delights less ambitious visitors as wellBy Parks and Suzanne HallWe had cast off from the Philipsburg, St. Maarten dock only minutes ago aboard "The Edge," a ferry that carries both locals and tourists to the tiny island of Saba. Already the spray is drying on our faces, leaving its salty residue. No trouble identifying the tourists. We’re the ones catching all the wind and water while crammed together on the lone bench seat stretching across the stern of this well traveled little craft. The daily travelers, numbering around 30, choose the dryness of the rather intimate bus-like cabin. We are fond of calling ourselves "Island People," when conversations with friends and colleagues turn to travel destinations. Through all our travels, we consistently return to the isles of the Caribbean. We have visited several of them more than once and there are still many yet to experience. They are all different from each other in many ways, yet they share much common history and tradition. So each first visit is both familiar and excitingly new. We are especially anticipating this new adventure, as we rock speedily through the day’s rather choppy water, covering the 28 miles from St. Maarten to the dock at Saba. Arriving on Saba is somewhat of an adventure by boat. It’s even more so by air. The airport boasts one of the shortest commercial runways in the world. After covering a length of only 1,300 feet, it drops off abruptly into the sea. Special VSTOL [very short take off and landing] aircraft must be used. To add to the thrill, arriving planes must make a sharp 180-degree turn on approach in order not to crash into the steeply rising terrain. However, no serious accidents have ever occurred and a planned runway extension was beginning at the time of our visit and should be completed by the end of 1999. Pity, progress spoils all the fun. A part of the Netherlands Antilles, Saba measures only five square miles in size and rises steeply from the sea to a height of almost 2,900 feet. As the island came into view, we were delighted with the abundance of natural flora. It’s no wonder the island is known as the "Unspoiled Queen." History has been unkind to the natural vegetation of the more populated Caribbean islands. Time and time again, the land has been stripped of timber for local use or to be carted off by ship to whatever country might be in control of the island at the time. Not Saba. The sight that greets the first-time visitor brings a feeling that you are privileged to be catching a glimpse of the natural splendor that all of these islands once possessed. As we traveled around half the island to reach port, we could see a few small Alpine-like villages nestled among the trees and clinging to the sides of this ancient volcanic mountain rising out of the sea. We had read of the unspoiled rain forest ringed with clouds near the top of Mount Scenery. And there it was in the distance. Parks had long since grabbed his ever dear and trusty Nikon and was doing his best to capture the somewhat surreal scenes unfolding before us on film, knowing that the shutter can never duplicate what the eye has seen.
As we traveled to The Bottom, the island’s capital, to have our passports stamped, the flavor of our journey became apparent. We were experiencing what islanders respectfully call The Road. Very steep and with serpentine-like turns, it links the island’s four villages and is an engineering marvel that Sabans are rightfully very proud of and look upon as a national monument. In the 1930s when Joseph Lambertus Hassell and other Sabans talked of building a road across the island, notable engineers of the day told them it was impossible. Undaunted, Hassell took a correspondence course in engineering, then designed and supervised the building of The Road. It took more than 30 years. It clearly has withstood the test of time. From The Bottom, we climbed to the town of Windwardside—the center of most of the island’s fledgling tourist industry. On the way, our driver gave us an interesting and welcome narrative about the island and its 12,000 residents. We noticed that all roof tops are red, which adds to the eye appeal of each village. "People started doing that years ago," he said. "It just kind of caught on over the years. When a few new buildings were built in recent years with green roofs there was such an outcry that the island government made red roofs mandatary by law." The result is striking. Overnight tourism is just now catching on in Saba. Previously, most of the accommodations consisted of small cottages and guest houses catering mostly to those who have for years stayed on Saba while experiencing some of the Caribbean’s’ most desirable diving. Scouts Place in Windwardside, for example, has 15 rooms and one apartment available. A large open-walled dining room serves good, reasonably priced food at lunch and dinner. The bar is a good place to meet and talk with locals. Adjacent to the dining room, Around the Bend is a good place to shop for souvenirs, jewelry, clothing and gifts and to chat with Jean, a friendly former New Yorker who runs the boutique. New guest facilities are in Saba’s future. Our destination, Willard’s of Saba, in Booby Hill, still farther up the steep and winding road, is one of the newest ones and is unique to the island. Just how unique, we were about to find out! Brad Willard is the great-grandson of Henry Willard who built the famous Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. Although the family hasn’t been in the hotel business for some years, Brad’s longtime dream was to build a hotel somewhere very special. His travels brought him first to Saba in the 1970s. He fell in love with the island and decided that it would be where he would return and build a new Willard’s. He spared no expense in building Saba’s most elegant and luxurious accommodations. Since 1994, he and his wife Corazon have operated the hotel and done most of the day-to-day work themselves. Actually it’s hard to think of Willard’s of Saba as a hotel. Built into the side of a mountain 2,000 feet above the Caribbean Sea, it looks more like a beautiful private home, perhaps in the Pacific coast modern style. Just a few hours into our stay, we did indeed feel like we were pampered and special guests in the Willard’s home. At Willard’s the pace is relaxed and geared to the needs and notions of guests. "Corazon does everything and I just enjoy living here. And, she’s a wonderful cook," Brad laughingly says. Indeed she is. She loves to prepare food and cooks most of the meals served in the dining room (which is open to the public) herself. Having traveled and lived in many parts of the world, Corazon delights in serving her guests unusual Asian, European and American dishes. The dining room is in the main building, which also houses the lobby, an honor bar and three spacious guest rooms. In addition to the main building, there are four bungalows ascending in a stair-step manner up the hill. Ours is number 4, directly overlooking the large swimming pool and hot tub. It’s almost impossible to describe the view and emotion it evokes. There is a quietness broken only by the wind and the sound of a few goats grazing far below. So far above the water are we that the waves seem frozen and motionless. If you are lucky enough to be here during a full moon, it will seem to rise up from the sea painting an eerie path of light that brings your eyes to the horizon where they meet the twinkling lights of St. Barts in the distance.
One evening Brad and Corazon invited their good friend artist Barbara Joyce to join us for dinner. The guest rooms and bungalows are decorated with many of her intriguing and beautiful paintings. A former actress, whose name will be recognized by fans of popular 1950s and 60s soap operas, she moved to St. Martin to paint in the 1970s. When it became too crowded, she decided to make her home on Saba. She continues to paint daily in her home studio. Her work is available at Willard’s and at galleries on Saba and in the U.S. and Canada. We had heard that if you weren’t a diver, you probably wouldn’t want to spend more than a day on Saba. The island certainly isn’t for everyone. There are no beaches on Saba. The steep island gives way abruptly to deep water. Night life consists of choosing from one of the several small restaurants like the Gate House, where you can have a good meal and good conversation with friendly interesting people. Owned by artist Jim Siegel, the restaurant offers creative Caribbean food and breathtaking views. During the day, you can visit the galleries and shops in Windwardside to purchase local art, a bottle of sweet Saban spice, an aromatic blend of powerful rum and spices, or some of the delicate thread work known as Saba lace. If you want to buy that lace from the women who stitch it ask a taxi driver to take you to one of the local churches, where the needlework is on display. Don’t expect to bargain, though. These talented ladies know what their efforts are worth. More adventurous visitors may want to spend the day or part of it hiking through the rain forest to the summit of Mount Scenery. After about a two-hour hard trek, you will see that trees and vegetation long gone from other more developed and well-known islands remain on Saba. Sabans are seeing to it that these treasures of nature remain. While they are embracing increased tourism for the island, strict rules are being put into place to protect the natural beauty and keep future building in line with the type of structures that attractively coexist with nature on the island now. Our days in Saba passed leisurely, yet all too quickly. We walked a lot, even in the evening. Crime is almost none existent and the residents of Saba seem to enjoy mixing and talking with their island’s visitors. Brad and Corazon are waiting at the door to say goodbye on the morning of our departure. It was time for hand shakes, hugs and promises of a return visit. We feel like we are leaving old friends. That’s the way it is on Saba and especially at Willard’s. Return we will. In the meantime, do we tell our friends about Saba or keep this secret a secret for ourselves? Contacts:Saba Tourist Bureau Willard’s of Saba Images by S. Parks Hall |
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Our taxi was waiting as "The Edge" arrived. Our driver and guide Eddy Peterson, a lifetime resident of Saba, was friendly, helpful and well spoken. In these things he was representative of everyone we encountered on our visit. Sabans are proud and protective of their island, but more than willing to share it with visitors. After informing him that we’d be checking into Willard’s of Saba for our three-day stay, he smiled and said, "You folks just sit back and enjoy the ride." 
It was on such a night that we sat long into the morning hours, not wanting to go to bed in fear of missing a moment of this exceptional experience. It was the perfect ending to an evening spent enjoying one of Corazon’s delicious dinners, Brad’s jazz CDs playing quietly in the background and a wonderful conversation with the Willards and their other guests around the pool. Brad Willard is quite the story teller. He loves to recount tales of building the hotel, the island and its people and of his travels. He is a delightful and entertaining host.